Yadkin students take part in nationwide school protest

Today around 10 a.m. more than 120 students at Forbush High School participated in a national protest in the wake of yet another mass school shooting that took place earlier this year. Principal Boomer Kennedy said that students gathered in the cafeteria where they observed 17 minutes of silence in memory of the victims that perished at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on Valentine’s Day.

Kennedy said teachers were informed in advance to direct any students wishing to participate in the nationwide protest to the cafeteria as the main goal at Forbush was to keep students safe during the protest.

“Our number one priority is safety and so we wanted to make sure that students were supervised if they wanted to participate in this,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy said that students at Forbush had been taking part in discussions regarding to gun reform, the possibility of arming teachers, and other options to improve school safety.

Yadkin County Schools Superintendent Dr. Todd Martin said that students from Forbush Middle, Starmount Middle and Starmount High also participated.

“The smallest group was approximately 30 students and the largest totaled approximately 150. In anticipation of the possibility that some students might choose to walk out, school personnel at all four schools had identified a safe place on each campus for students to gather. Students who participated were respectful and there were no disruptions,” Martin said.